Where to find the right EC(s) for me?

Applying to College
1

<p>I'm handling school well enough-ish, but it's a well known fact that extra-curriculars are vital to look remotely approachable in a college application.
The following will include a mass of information that may/may not pertain to my query skim through it or just scroll on through to my actual question at the bottom of the post.</p>

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<p>Basically I have few things to my name:
Summer before 9th grade:
- NOTHING -- had fun?</p>

<p>9th grade:
- I volunteered a little (~30 hours?) at libraries
- Was involved in three clubs none of which I was particularly fond of. The reason for joining clubs I didn't like was that I didn't know whether or not I'd like them when I joined.Plus all the clubs I was interested in joining (key club, NHS, etc), were limited to upperclassman.
- CYC (Carolina's Youth Commission) was a full blown Christian organization (I'm not Christian) and it was a little awkward but I stuck with it because it was interesting and I didn't know all that much about Christianity. That and we did nothing but read bible verses.
- American Red Cross Club was in spirit good enough. I liked the concept of the community giving and all that, but it was very poorly led and we got very little accomplished.
- FILA (Future International Leader's of America) was interesting enough. Had less to do with international leadership and more to do with... salsa. Not the sauce, but the dance. And many other dances as well.I have no idea where that came from but I stuck with it though I have no passion for dance at all simply because it was interesting and the first time I'd done anything to that effect.</p>

<p>Summer between 9th + 10th grade:
- I wrote a letter to my principal and she gave me special permission to enroll in the "freshman mentoring program". It was a program that required you to attend a 40-hour leadership course worth college credit over the summer and use the "skills" you obtain there towards a mentoring program the following year. It was interesting sitting in on my first "college-level" course and got to see a few different view points on leadership and all that. It would have been great if it wasn't for the fact that I could have aced that course while in a coma. It was seriously a joke (oxymoron?). In any case, the reason I needed special permission was because the program was originally exclusive to only upperclassmen. Basically everything is exclusive to upperclassmen. So being fed up with not being allowed to do anything I wrote a pretty stern letter relaying somewhat how I was fed up with all of it (sounding more professional) and my principal called me up to her office and told me she made arrangements for me attend the course and take part in the program the following year.
- Volunteered some more at libraries, but still very little (~20 hours?)
- Volunteered at the American Red Cross for a while (~20 hours) but a family emergency came up and I left on very bad terms as I completely forgot to inform the center that I wouldn't be able to show upon the times I scheduled with them, and due to that the coordinator there really doesn't like me anymore. Which actually sucks because I enjoyed volunteering there and helping blood donors so much more than ceaselessly shelving books at a library.</p>

<p>10th grade (not done yet):
- Involved in Academic Internship Program through which I'm basically job shadowing a bunch of doctor's over the course of 13 weeks but must report evaluations of what I learned in a journal and do some project on it. I get to see a new profession every week from cardiology to radiology to veterinary.
- Took part in Dual Enrollment through which I'm taking a course at a local Community college on C++ programming. This is also quite interesting as I've always been curious of how programming worked and this provides not only specifics on C++ but a basis on general computer programming logic.
- Took part in Freshman Mentoring from the course I took over the summer which basically means I visit freshman homerooms every once in a while and talk to them about how the high school works and so on. It's basically supposed allows students to provide hands on knowledge of how the high school works, what teachers are nice, how to get on their good sides, etc, and help freshmen transition well into the fun that is high school.
- Involved in 6 clubs very few of which actually do much but.....
- Model United Nations is actually interesting. I founded the branch at my school myself this year and we've done well enough doing mock delegations and such. We've had little luck attracting members or raising money to attend conferences so we haven't been that insanely active, but we've still been preparing well within the school and have come far enough. I currently serve as President/High Chair so that might look good-ish.
- Physics club is fun as well, but we're not doing much. Meetings have been little more than non-existent but we did manage to put together a hovercraft powered by air-pressure, though it's not powerful enough to ride.
- Science Olympiad is actually the most legit club I'm in. We're already entered in the competition in May and we're preparing for it so that's fun. But we've only just started since the club wasn't put together till the beginning of second semester (last week).
- American Red Cross Club is worse off this year than last. I'm still technically in it though we haven't had a meeting in 2 months now. I'm trying to show some consistency but I don't think this is the greatest club for that. Hopefully Model UN will be able to show that consistency I suppose I'm lacking.
- Chess Club is interesting. I'm absolutely horrible at chess though I find it fun. I didn't know we had a chess club so I joined late but they've been friendly. But I haven't been able to accomplish much myself since I joined late but I think we are going to some local competition soon, but I think I'll be watching more than playing.
- The S.O.C.K. club is the last one and it's another one I joined because I thought it was interesting-ish and I'd never been exposed to it before. Basically it's a knitting/crocheting club with lots of yarn and needles. I have no idea what I'm doing but I'm learning though I don't think I'll continue with it. It's just an interesting skill I suppose would be fun enough to develop.</p>

<h2>- I made and submitted a project with a group towards the EXPLORAVISION competition that I invested quite a bit of time into (~60 hours). We had to develop an improvement on a present day technology and we did ours on the exhaust system of vehicles in order to work towards limiting emissions. Wasn't the most original idea but my group was... not the most intelligent of people and I ended up doing most of the work myself, but it was the only thing we could agree on.</h2>

<p>HERE'S MY ACTUAL ISSUE
I have no idea what I should be doing as far as EC's. I've gotten a good start on High School courses (planned out the rest of my 4 years), applied to a bunch of different summer/residential programs that I'll never get into, am well underway to preparing for standardized tests (SAT + ACT), and am researching colleges. But I'm utterly lost as far as EC's are concerned. I've looked for jobs everywhere but no one will call me back let alone offer me a position. I mean even babysitting/mowing lawns is impossible to find (or people don't like me :( ). As far as sports I'm, training and practicing right now and hope to try out for varsity next year. I have no idea what possessed me to not try out my first two years. I maen i missed the try outs but I could have at least requested a spot on the team but for some reason I just put it off and never got around to it. Meh, it was stupid, yes.
Soooooo:
1.) What kind of EC's are colleges looking for?
2.) What are mine missing?
3.) What/where should I look for something that will satisfy my "community service" gap that I'll be able to devote time into?
3.) What/where should I look for something that will satisfy my "volunteer/work experience" gap that I'll be able to devote time into?
4.) What is there that I could really do that connects with science/math? I've heard on the forums about research opportunities (something about publishing your own research) and that sounds awesome but I wouldn't know where to look.</p>

<p>If anyone could touch on some of those questions, provide tips of their own, or ANYTHING at all, I'd be extremely grateful. I'm a little lost and very scared that time is running out and I need something to my name before time comes to start submitting applications. </p>

<p>Thank you all so much in advance!</p>

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<p>I'm interested too, I have a strong interest in medicine and bioethics but cannot find EC's to match my interests.</p>

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<p>You guys shouldn't be so concerned with which EC's colleges want, but which wants you enjoy. Colleges want people who are passionate about their interests... so sign up for clubs that interest you!</p>

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<p>While I would be lying if I said I wasn't looking for what colleges want, I am more looking at things I enjoy but I'm struggling to find EC's that fit that category (hence my title and question #4). Or anything at all for that matter. Really I'm pretty lost.</p>

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<p>Wow, that's a long post, lol. If you want advice... well, I'd first advise you to repost that in a more condensed message so people can read it in a few seconds.</p>

<p>Hmm and as for an answer to your conundrum... you should probably narrow down your ECs so you can devote more time to each of them. Founding MUN is incredible - perhaps recruit members to make it a large club, so you can write that down. I suppose you're president of it, so that's good.</p>

<p>One piece of advice: try not to do things for the sole purpose of college. Try to do ECs because you like them, and then it'll SHOW THROUGH on your college application. That's truly what colleges are looking for...</p>

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<p>I do definitely plan on continuing with MUN and growing a larger memberbase, along with a few other clubs.</p>

<p>I also am aware that it's better to pick things your passionate about but I've had trouble finding things I really enjoy. I was/am looking for something along the lines of science/math. I've read some things about research or something on these forums, but I really have no idea. I'm just wondering if anyone has any idea of where I can look/what I should try.</p>

<p>THAT and any other advice you may have. I suppose I should stress again that there is no need to read through all of that if you don't want/need to. I just included it just in case you wanted/needed some background info to help. I thought it would be better to include some extra info that you can skip through rather than asking some random question that no one can answer without knowing more.</p>

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<p>I know this has been beaten to death already, but (once again) find things to do that you're genuinely interested in. If you're not sure what you like, go way out of your element and try something new. Example: I joined my school's fencing club my sophomore year; one of the best decisions I've made in my high school career, even though I've never been one for sports/athletics (and actually, my parents were dead-set against me fencing, so...).</p>

<p>You're science/math, so invest heavily in Science Olympiad. It's amazing if you give it a chance and you can learn so much. (Forensics = incredible, btw). Also, have you tried Math Team? Not for everyone, for sure (I attended meetings for a few weeks, got lost, and dropped out with no regrets).</p>

<p>Summer programs are neat, too, if you have nothing to do during that time (and no, summerwork does not = busy). Or you can find a job.</p>

<p>Since you can only list a couple ECs on college apps (seven for Common), don't load up on ECs that you feel are necessary "fillers" b/c chances are you won't end up mentioning them (i.e. NHS, NFHS, etc.). As for community service, I didn't do much of it, myself; just some minimal tutoring after school. The rest of my time was spread throughout a variety of ECs that I suspect would holler out "unfocused" here on CC. >.></p>

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<p>A few months ago there was a discussion (parents forum) on good math books to read. How about setting up a reading plan for yourself or start a math/science book group that could meet every other month at the library?</p>

<p>Do you have any hobbies? Perfecting the chocolate chip cookie? Long mile bike rides every Saturday morning? Writing letters to deployed soldiers? ECs don't have to be strictly school related.</p>

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<p>How do you perfect something that's already so perfect :p?</p>

<p>I definitely won't be mentioning everything I listed here on my apps I just wanted to list what I've done (I mean this is EVERYTHING, I left pretty much nothing out).And I'm trying to search for things I can put my passion in science/math towards but I did think that it would be a good idea to find out what colleges are looking for and where I stand as well. I'll run with the Olympiad as well (I'll look into that forensics suggestion). And as far as the fencing thing, I was kind of trying for a similar result. As I wasn't sure where to go I grabbed a little of everything I could (which was limited since virtually everything was designated as "UPPERCLASSMEN-ONLY". My school has no "math club" which is a little sad. I'd make one myself but I'm actually having a lot of fun with MUN and I don't know if I'd want to start up a second club.</p>

<p>Hobbies are limited. Science/math fascinate me but I haven't found any hobbies in that so much. I do like soccer and playing the drums and definitely plan on trying out for the team next year. I also looked at joining the band but I'm not THAT interested in percussion, I just like to play around with my drum set at home. I guess I enjoy video-games too but that doesn't have much room to expand on from what I've seen.</p>

<p>The reading idea is interesting. I've actually never thought of that. I've read some things on some scientific matters but I've never really thought about reading about math/science so much at all (I'm serious the thought never occurred to me). Whenever I thought about books I thought about great pieces of literature like Moby Dick or Tom Sawyer or Of Mice and Men. I've actually made a list of all these great works of literature I've yet to read and am slowly working my way through them. Huh. I really do think I'll look into getting some math/science books.</p>

<p>Thank you all SO MUCH so far. I'll definitely appreciate anything more anyone may want to add :).</p>

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<p>You should join the band anyway, music is fun :D</p>

<p>of course I'm a music major so I'm a bit biased lol</p>

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<p>Running with the books: Simon Singh's a great author. Accessible and fun to read. Check him out!</p>

<p>Totally agree with Wlokos about music being fun, btw.</p>

<p>And actually, my Common App essay was entirely about a video game (Final Fantasy VIII, to be exact) and how it inspired me to write. Which sounds weird, but really isn't. On that note (and this is totally out of the blue, considering you're math/science), have you tried creative writing? I wasn't into it at all until I got a taste of it and--BAM!--now it's the thing I'm most passionate about. (And I was more math/science like you before I started writing.)</p>

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<p>I appreciate the suggestion for taking band, and I actually took band in 6th, 7th, and 8th grades, but when entering highschool I didn't pursue it too much. If I understand correctly, the band system works in a continuation in my district so if you want to participate you have to have taken it in previous years (basically it's a huge continuation from 6-12th grade). You can get around that by convincing the band teacher to sit for a personal audition and wow them like crazy, but I doubt I'd manage that. Plus, I actually am a little strapped to space in my courses. There are so many classes that I'd find awesome to take but there are a few I just must have and when getting those out of the way I'm left with no more room in my schedule :(.</p>

<p>As for the other suggestion:
Creative writing meaning...?
I apologize I don't want to get the wrong sense of what you're suggesting is all. I, personally, despise writing. The very act (physical or mental) is painful (sorta an exaggeration). It is my one worst area of academics. I've worked and am still working very hard with my English teacher trying to improve. Truthfully I'm able to score well on writing tests more or less, but I'm not satisfied with how I write or anything. If I can ace a course but not know the material well enough, it bothers me. That being said I'm not confident in nor very happy with my ability to write well.
If by creative writing you meant simply writing for fun (short stories/taking a stab at writing a novel/journal) I've given that a shot. Never in a class and regrettably never taken it too seriously either, but I've had some ideas for books and would just sit down at MS Word and start typing away. I'd read it over, hate what I wrote (but really like the concept) try again and eventually the novelty would fade and it just gets saved as another document never to be opened again. I've tried to keep a journal and I really didn't like that much at all (gave up after my first entry). I wonder if I'd enjoy writing more if I more regularly applied myself to just doing it, but I find it difficult to apply myself in that field while I find myself really enjoying working in science/math. Maybe I should really pursue it once. Or maybe I have a completely incorrect idea of what creative writing is. I don't know :p, but I don't plan on giving up on it (especially since I'm going have to write a 400-page thesis to get my PhD :O)</p>

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<p>Yup, just writing for fun.</p>

<p>Curiously enough, I have/had the same problem as you: I personally ... have problems with everything I write; I end up thinking it's absolute and complete dreck, and this was a problem I struggled with for the past couple years (and actually, I still struggle with it). I have ideas, I write them, hate what I write, edit/revise/rewrite, still hate what's on the document, and eventually, after so much editing, I end up scrapping the project because I'm worn out and irritated.</p>

<p>That being said, the thing with writing is that, even if you think you're writing crap, you keep pushing forward. Finish the story, and then edit. I know it's tough, because you want to make sure everything that's written is actually good and all that, but the main goal is to just finish the story. If you're interested in taking it up again, giving it another shot, just remember that nobody produces a publishable first draft. In fact, to get over the entire "God, my writing sucks, I wanna edit!" feeling, I suggest NaNoWriMo.(Google it; event comes up every November. Totally worth it.) Also helps to have some friends interested in writing for you to bounce ideas off of.</p>

<p>Plus, it'll help with writing college essays. Haha. Extra incentive. But, seriously, I hope you give it another try! (Be warned though, my formal essay writing, I believe, actually got worse after I started writing for fun. I don't know if this is just some isolated incident with me or something, but I suspect I'm just so much more used to informal writing than formal that, well, the formal writing started to suffer. Again, don't know if it's just me...)</p>

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<p>The NaNoWriMo thing looks like a ton of fun. I'll try it out. Even if simply to get some more writing under my belt. I'll be sure to watch out for formal writing skills but I'm sure I'll manage. :)</p>

<p>Though, just out of curiosity, does anyone know of any science/math programs or contests or opportunities of some kind. I've tried looking things up and I can't find much. I mean there's clubs at school but I was hoping to take it to the next level and wondered if there was anything out there to help me do that?</p>

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<p>Erm, Bumpity bump.</p>

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<p>Moodragonx -- honestly, if you genuinely don't find EC's that interesting to you, don't do them is my best advice. I didn't myself, and while that doesn't help one get into top private schools, you can get into the top schools which tend to admit more of the purely academic types, of which I know a handful. Berkeley is a great example of this, and in general top public schools admit you more based on scores. Schools like Harvey Mudd and Caltech want to see commitment to science and math, not so much the other EC's. </p>

<p>The bottom line is that I'd not force myself into EC's just to impress top schools, and it IS A DISTINCT POSSIBILITY that you are just not an EC type person. There's nothing wrong with this. You may get rejected from MIT undergrad flat out because of lacking EC's, but then again, if you're academically something, you could get into their <em>more selective</em> Ph.D. programs. Lots of undergraduate schools don't favor students without EC's, but the place for many to shine is really in graduate school admissions.</p>

<p>As for Olympiads, only do them if you like 'em. I know personally math professors at Berkeley (Erhm, people who went to Harvard for undergrad, Princeton for grad, postdoced at the most insane places, communicated with the most insane minds in the world) who just do not like math competitions, and never really competed. It is very possible to hate math competitions, hate tricky probability problems, and then end up loving abstract math. Or, in your case, whatever science interests you have may best be served by your picking up reading that is interesting to you. </p>

<p>Your language sounds like you're only trying to find EC's [or at least mainly] to please colleges, and know that I once felt the same as you did, and decided against giving into the EC mania when I felt very detached from it. I couldn't be happier now. So many of my friends tried doing speech and debate to make it look good on their applications, and go to Berkeley with me...now say that they felt they wasted their time. </p>

<p>Really only do EC's if you <em>ADORE</em> them, because chances are, if you don't, you won't convince schools like Yale and Harvard to let you into their undergraduate programs, and will have wasted your time.</p>

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<p>While I appreciate the concern, I really do plan to stick with it. If I fall into something I despise I'm dropping it immediately, but for the most part I don't mind juggling a few EC's (I like debating for instance). The problem I'm having isn't that I can't find interest in EC's, but I can't find EC's I'm all too interested in. I'd be grateful to find a math competition because I've never had the opportunity to try one out to even decide for myself if I hate it or not. The same would go for anything "sciencey".</p>

<p>While I won't deny that much of my motive for pursuing EC's is the college admissions, I think it'd be great to find something I really look forward to doing, and find the opportunity to get into an organization to pursue your interests is a fun idea.</p>

<p>It's not that I'm just not an EC person (I think) but more that I've had a hard time picking anything I could really get myself into. Or finding anything at all for that matter.</p>

<p>The only real concern I have I guess (since most people are quite insistent in me not looking for EC's to satisfy what colleges are looking for) is my 4th question in the first post. About science research or something. I think the idea sounds like a lot of fun but I have no idea how to get into that. Googling doesn't help anything, my school and school district website's are useless. My counselor isn't much of a help. Yet I mean I'm reading on CC that there are people completing scientific research projects that are supposed to be very impressive to colleges or something. I'm really not looking to impress anyone at this point I just want to give it a shot and see if it's for me. Especially since I'm aspiring to go into research professionally, whatever this is will likely be a great indicator of whether I'm looking in the right direction or not.</p>

18

<p>Well don't get me wrong, I'm not telling you that you shouldn't do EC's -- just that I get the distinct impression this is coming from someone who's a bit nervous about college. </p>

<p>You can do very productive things with your time as a future researcher that WILL NOT earn you as many brownie points with college. If you're deliberately choosing not to do those, but sticking with things that're likelier to be noticed, then you're explicitly choosing to try to game the system. </p>

<p>For instance, say you like math. You can check out sample problems to them I imagine. What if you hate 'em? Are you going to stick with it? According to you, no. That's a good attitude, and I think you'll go places with it. I just don't recommend that you try to do EC's to impress colleges if you don't feel something for them, because chances are, you can do great things otherwise.</p>

<p>By the way, genuinely your ability to do research in many fields is hugely limited until like, second or third year of college. Sure, people do "research," but generally nothing spectacularly interesting -- there are exceptions, but I'd imagine very few. I'm not sure, of course, where to advise you to go if you do want to give it a shot, which is fine, but just saying....there's a great chance that nothing will appeal to you that much, and my humble opinion is that you're best off spending your time more on academics. </p>

<p>Go pick up a textbook of interest and read it! Self-study skills are pretty tough to develop. That's a great activity to do outside of school. </p>

<p>"but I can't find EC's I'm all too interested in."</p>

<p>Same issue I had, and I understood this when I posted. Don't force it, is all I'm saying. If you can't, maybe you can't. Often you'll know in your gut if you just don't care about an EC, no matter how much people brainwash you that you'll only know if you try. I mean, you can be a perfectly interesting person, love academics, and not like EC's that others do. </p>

<p>If you want to do research, I suggest you get yourself excited about what you want to research in! The way you're approaching it doesn't seem right to me. For instance, if you want to do something with physics...well how much physics do you know?! You can't just go "Hey, I'm gonna solve a problem!" It doesn't work that way. I believe strongly that you should be a heavily independent self-studier, actively learning stuff well beyond your high school curriculum, if you really want to do anything outside of school that's academically meaningful [e.g. research]. </p>

<p>BTW, to give you an example, while undergraduates do some research type stuff for math in college, almost none can come close to doing anything that's on the lines of mainstream math until grad school..the learning curve is too high. Professors encourage undergrads often to stop trying to be original and solve problems before they really have any machinery, and to focus on learning. Sure, some independent work exposure is important to get the flavor..but ONLY for the flavor. The actual mathematical material you research won't be real, actual mainstream math without WAY more study. </p>

<p>I think at a smaller level, the same advice applies to you. Before you try to do an academic EC [unless a math competition, which requires more cleverness than knowledge] I'd first focus on getting excited about the field.</p>

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<p>You can check out sample problems to them I imagine.</p>

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<p>^ Above refers to math competitions. Sorry, as I've said on other threads, my connection is funny, and the "edit" feature doesn't work out so well.</p>